Not Applicable
Not Applicable.
This invention relates to waiter paging systems for use in restaurants, and, in particular, to a paging system for which allows diners to discreetly call for their waiters. The paging system can also enable a waiter to inform the restaurant hostess when a table is ready for new diners and allow for the kitchen or bar to inform a waiter when an order is ready for a particular table.
Waiters in restaurants are often very busy. It is thus often difficult for a diner to get a waiter""s attention, for example, to request the bill, or to otherwise let the waiter know that his/her services are needed. Typically, a diner has to attempt to make eye contact with the waiter, hold up his or her hand to get the waiter""s attention, or otherwise call out to the waiter as the waiter passes by the diner""s table. These methods may not be discreet, and are often difficult to accomplish because the waiter is busy. It would thus be desirable to provide a diner with a method whereby he/she could easily notify the waiter that the waiter""s services are requested. It would also be desirable to enable the bar or kitchen to notify the waiter when orders are ready, as well as to notify the hostess when a table is cleared and ready for new diners.
Several waiter call systems have been developed. However, many of these systems rely on a light at the table to notify the water that he/she is needed. Other systems are bulky, are not flexible in their operation, and suffer from other drawbacks.
Briefly stated, my waiter paging system, in one embodiment, includes a plurality of table transmitters (there being one transmitter at each table) which transmit a xe2x80x9cwaiter callxe2x80x9d signal, a central unit which receives the xe2x80x9cwaiter callxe2x80x9d signal from the table transmitter and which effectively relays the xe2x80x9cwaiter callxe2x80x9d signal, and a plurality of waiter pager units which receive the xe2x80x9cwaiter callxe2x80x9d signal from the central unit. The pager unit notifies the waiter via a vibrator or buzzer that a request has been received and displays the request. In a second embodiment, there is no central unit. Rather, the waiter pager units receive the xe2x80x9cwaiter callxe2x80x9d signal directly from the table transmitters.
The table transmitters preferably transmit an analog signal. The signal from each table transmitter can be at a different frequency or the signal from each transmitter can be on the same frequency but be modulated so that the signals from the different transmitters can be differentiated. Alternatively, the transmitters can emit a digital signal. No matter what type of signal is sent, the signal sent by each transmitter is different and contains data indicative of the particular transmitter activated (and hence the table requesting service). To avoid problems caused with potential scrambling of signals, for example by a piece of equipment being started, the table transmitters, when activated, preferably send a series of signalsxe2x80x94i.e., it transmits its signal, for example, three times. The receiver of the signal (the central unit in the first embodiment and the pager unit in the second embodiment) samples the signal over specific time periods, and filters out background noise. By filtering out background noise, false requests will not be transmitted to, or received by, the pager units. Additionally, by having the table transmitters send three signals, an actual request will not be perceived as noise, and will be transmitted to, or received by, the pager unit, and displayed on the appropriate pager unit.
Each pager unit is associated with a set of tables (and hence table transmitters), each set of tables being fewer than all the tables in the restaurant. In either of the two systems, the set of tables with which an individual pager is associated can be selectively altered. In the first (centralized) system, the central unit includes a pager memory in which codes for selective pager units are stored and a pager/table association memory in which pager/table association information is stored. The central unit can be selectively switched between a programming mode and a non-programming mode and includes means for altering the pager/table associations. Thus, when the central unit is in its programming mode, and when the pager/table associations are changed, the pager/table association memory is altered. In the second (non-centralized) system, the pager units are programmable, the pager/table association being altered with the pager units themselves. The pager unit can be switched between a programming mode and an operational mode and includes a memory device in which table association information is stored; wherein, when the pager unit receives a signal from a xe2x80x9cwaiter callxe2x80x9d transmitter when is in its programming mode, the pager stores the table information in its memory.
The pager units will preferably have certain features, no matter which system they are used with. As noted above, the pager unit display will display at least one request. The request information is stored in a request memory in the pager unit, and as requests are received by the pager unit, a vibrator or buzzer is activated for a short period of time to alert the waiter of the received request and the request information is stored in the unit""s request memory. The displayed request is the request stored in the first memory address. The waiter pager unit also includes a reset button to clear a specific request from the request memory and from the display. When the reset button is pressed, a displayed request is cleared from the request memory, the requests stored in the request memory are advanced through the request memory addresses, and the display is updated.
Either system can also be provided with a kitchen and a bar transmitter, which are activated when a food or drink order is ready. The kitchen and bar transmitters are substantially the same, and operate substantially identically to the table transmitters. The kitchen and bar transmitters can comprise a single transmitter capable of sending out different signals, or they can comprise a plurality of transmitters corresponding to the number of pager waiter units. In the first instance, the signal sent by the transmitter is set, for example, by a dial, button, or similar means. The xe2x80x9corder readyxe2x80x9d signal sent by the kitchen and bar transmitters includes information relating to the source of the signal (i.e., from the kitchen or the bar) and of the waiter (pager) being paged to pick up an order. When a pager unit receives an xe2x80x9corder readyxe2x80x9d signal, its display is updated with a xe2x80x9cKxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d, for example, to show that an order is ready.
The two systems (centralized and non-centralized) can also include a hostess stand unit. In the centralized system, the hostess stand unit is preferably made part of the central unit, and the central unit is then located at the hostess stand. The hostess stand unit includes a display having indicia indicative of each table in the restaurant and a receiver responsive to a xe2x80x9ctable clearxe2x80x9d signal from the table transmitters. When a xe2x80x9ctable clearxe2x80x9d signal is received, the hostess stand display is updated to show that a respective table is ready for new diners. Additionally, the hostess unit includes a reset switch to alter the table status shown on the display once a party is seated at a table. This reset switch can be either a mechanical switch or a software switch.
In the centralized system, the hostess stand receiver is the central unit receiver and the central unit does not need a second receiver. The xe2x80x9ctable clearxe2x80x9d signal can be sent by second transmitters at each table. Alternatively, the one transmitter at the table can be used to send the xe2x80x9ctable clearxe2x80x9d signal. In this instance, the xe2x80x9ctable clearxe2x80x9d signal would be differentiated from the xe2x80x9cwaiter callxe2x80x9d signal by the duration of the signal sent. A signal longer than, for example, three seconds would be interpreted by the system to be a xe2x80x9ctable clearxe2x80x9d signal and a shorter signal would be interpreted to be a xe2x80x9cwaiter callxe2x80x9d signal.